Hints For Effective Slide Design

1. ONLY POORLY PLANNED SLIDES CAN RESULT IN THIS,
BUT GUESS WHAT; EVERY PROBLEM HAS A SOLUTION!
HERE ARE USEFUL HINTS FOR
EFFECTIVE SLIDE DESIGN
Designed by
Sizwe Zwelakhe Dlamini

2. ONE IDEA PER SLIDE
 State only one idea per slide to avoid confusion
 Lines should not be more that seven in a slide
 Highlight important points
 Limit the number of words

3. BULLETS OVER NUMBERS
 Numbers show sequence
 Bullets show no specific order
 Bullets are therefore much more
preferred.
 Bullets should be on the left, not right.

4. USE OF SUITABLE COLOURS
 It is important to use the same colour throughout the presentation
 Dark letters are much more suitable on light background
 And light letters are much more suitable on dark background
Use contrasting colors
Light on dark vs dark on light
Use complementary colors

5. USE OF A CORRECT FONT
 Font should be readable and large
 Avoid fonts like new times romans. Arial for
example is more suitable
This is Arial 12
This is Arial 18
This is Arial 22
This is Arial 36
This is Arial 44

6. AVOID SENTENCES THAT ONLY CONSIST OF
CAPATAL LETTERS
 They make the text hard to read

7. USE VISUALS AND AUDIO AIDS TO ELABORATE (1)

8. USE VISUAL AND AUDIO AIDS TO ELABORATE (2)
 Pictures make the presented information to be easily remembered
 The use of graphs helps to minimize information
 Audio enhances understanding

9. SELECT GOOD VISUAL AIDS
 Use visual aids that link with the
with the message presented

10. USE MAKE USE OF RELEVANT QUOTES
 This could help to summarize
and explain ideas in a better
and different way

11. AVOID POOR BACKGROUND
 Backgrounds should never
affect the message you are
trying to send

12. USE ONE BACKGROUND CONSISTENTLY

13. THE PLACE AND SIZE OF HEADINGS AND
SUDHEADINGS SHOULD BE CONSISTENTONSISTENT

14. WHY COMPLICATE THINGS?

15. AND LASTLY, KEEP THE SLIDE SHOW SHORT AND
INTERESTING

16. REFERENCES
• presentationhttp://www.slideshare.net/eClick_Softwares/what-makes-a-good-slideshow-
presentation-dos-donts?qid=437ae636-cd18-4f61-a1b4-
b43ac37f5038&v=&b=&from_search=10
• http://www.slideshare.net/satyajeet_02/how-to-make-effective-presentation?qid=a53f7056-
e1e6-47de-9141-681e3336cad3&v=&b=&from_search=2
• http://www.slideshare.net/satyajeet_02/how-to-make-effective-presentation?qid=a53f7056-
e1e6-47de-9141-681e3336cad3&v=&b=&from_search=2
• http://www.slideshare.net/dr_vikramgupta/guidelines-for-preparing-powerpoint-
presentations
• https://www.google.com/search?q=arrows&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS
57yz7ubOAhXDDcAKHd1_B2oQ_AUICCgB&biw=1600&bih=755#imgrc=kz9HW8U7ngiOVM%
3A
• https://www.google.com/search?q=arrow&biw=1600&bih=755&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwiJpZrI-ObOAhWmI8AKHSbOBr8Q_AUIBygC#imgrc=beaf07m4Vy0doM%3A